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BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. It specialises in modern
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
, dance,
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
and indie, while its sister station
1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and Urban contemporary music, urban music, including Hip hop music, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, ...
plays Black contemporary music, including hip hop and R&B. Radio 1 also runs two online streams, Radio 1 Dance, dedicated to dance music, and Radio 1 Anthems, dedicated to throwback music; both are available to listen only on
BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...
. Radio 1 broadcasts throughout the UK on FM between and ,
digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. This should not be confused with In ...
,
digital TV Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative adv ...
and BBC Sounds. It was launched in 1967 to meet the demand for music generated by
pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...
stations, when the average age of the UK population was 27. The BBC claims that it targets the 15–29 age group, and the average age of its UK audience since 2009 is 30. BBC Radio 1 started 24-hour broadcasting on 1 May 1991. According to
RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR; ) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and Radiocentre. RAJAR's predecessor was c ...
, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 7.39 million with a listening share of 4.8% as of May 2025.


History


First broadcast

Radio 1 was established in 1967 (along with the more middle-of-the-road
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
) as a successor to the
BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...
, which had broadcast popular music and other entertainment since 1945. Radio 1 was conceived as a direct response to the popularity of offshore
pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...
stations such as
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopol ...
and Radio London, which had been declared illegal by Act of Parliament. Radio 1's initial format was influenced in particular by Radio London's American-style
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
format, in which music was divided into categories played in strict rotation. The new service was initially promoted in the summer of 1967 by trails (voiced by
Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English radio Disc Jockey, DJ and television entertainer, known for his zany comedic style. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the m ...
) which referred to it as "Radio 247", the station's temporary working title. Radio 1 was launched at 7:00am on Saturday 30 September 1967. Broadcasts were on AM (247 metres), using a network of transmitters which had carried the Light Programme. Most were of comparatively low power, at less than 50 kilowatts, and this resulted in the station only having patchy coverage. The first disc jockey to broadcast on the new station was
Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...
, who had previously been on Radio Caroline and Radio London, and presented what became known as the ''
Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'', also known as ''The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'', is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week u ...
''. The first words on Radio 1 – after a countdown by the Controller of Radios 1 and 2, Robin Scott, and a jingle, recorded at
PAMS PAMS Productions, Inc. (an acronym for Production, Advertising and Merchandising Service), based in Dallas, Texas, was one of the most famous jingle production companies in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stat ...
in
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, Texas, beginning "The voice of Radio 1" – were: This was the first use of US-style jingles on BBC radio, but the style was familiar to listeners who were acquainted with Blackburn and other DJs from their days on pirate radio. The reason jingles from PAMS were used was that the Musicians' Union would not agree to a single fee for the singers and musicians if the jingles were made "in-house" by the BBC; they wanted repeat fees each time one was played. The first music to be heard on the station was an extract from "Beefeaters" by
Johnny Dankworth Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...
. " Theme One", specially composed for the launch by
George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...
was played for the first time before Radio 1 officially launched at 7 am. The first complete record played on Radio 1 was "
Flowers in the Rain "Flowers in the Rain" is a song by English rock band the Move. The song was released as the lead single to the band's debut self-titled studio album, ''Move'', on the 25th of August, 1967, featuring the B-side "(Here We Go Round) the Lemon Tree" a ...
" by
The Move The Move were a British Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1965. They scored nine Top 40, top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of ...
, the number 2 record in that week's Top 20 (the number 1 record,
The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group the Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as the Band's "farewell concert a ...
by Engelbert Humperdinck, would have been inappropriate for the station's sound). The second single was "
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
" by the
Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...
. The breakfast show remains the most prized slot in the Radio 1 schedule, with every change of breakfast show presenter generating considerable media interest. The initial rota of staff included
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
,
Pete Myers Peter Eddie Myers (born September 15, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player and a former assistant coach for the NBA team Chicago Bulls. He is most famous for having been Michael Jordan's replacement player during Jordan's ...
, and a gaggle of others, some transferred from pirate stations, such as Keith Skues,
Ed Stewart Edward Stewart Mainwaring (23 April 1941 – 9 January 2016), known as Ed "Stewpot" Stewart, was an English radio broadcaster and TV presenter. He was principally known for his work as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 (particularly the Saturday morning ' ...
,
Mike Raven Austin Churton Fairman (15 November 1924 – 4 April 1997), who used the name Churton Fairman but was more widely known under the pseudonym Mike Raven in the 1960s and early 1970s, was a British radio disc jockey, actor, sculptor, sheep farmer ...
, David Ryder, Jim Fisher, Jimmy Young, Dave Cash, Kenny Everett,
Simon Dee Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd (28 July 1935 – 29 August 2009), better known by his stage name Simon Dee, was a British television interviewer and radio disc jockey who hosted a twice-weekly BBC TV chat show, ''Dee Time'', in the late 1960s. Aft ...
,
Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in Britain for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in 2009, his BBC Radio 2 weekday brea ...
, Duncan Johnson, Doug Crawford,
Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal, along with ...
, Chris Denning, and
Emperor Rosko Michael Joseph Pasternak (born 26 December 1942), known by his stage name Emperor Rosko, is an American presenter of rock music programmes, most widely known for his shows on Radio Caroline and BBC Radio 1 in the UK in the 1960s and early 1970s. ...
. Many of the most popular pirate radio voices, such as Simon Dee, had only a one-hour slot per week ("Midday Spin").


1970s

Initially, the station was unpopular with some of its target audience who, it is claimed, disliked that much of its airtime was shared with Radio 2 and that it was less unequivocally aimed at a young audience than the offshore stations, with DJs such as Jimmy Young being in their 40s. The fact that it was part of an "establishment" institution such as the BBC turned off some, and
needle time Needle or Needles may refer to: Crafting * Crochet needle, a tool for making loops in thread or yarn * Knitting needle, a tool for knitting, not as sharp as a sewing needle * Sewing needle, a long slender tool with a pointed tip * Trussing needle ...
restrictions let it play fewer many than the offshore stations. It had limited finances and often, as in January 1975, suffered disproportionately when the BBC made financial cutbacks, strengthening an impression that it was a lower priority for BBC executives. Despite this, it gained massive audiences, becoming the most listened-to station in the world, with audiences of more than 10 million claimed for some shows (up to 20 million for some of the combined Radio 1 and Radio 2 shows). In the early-to-mid-1970s, Radio 1 presenters were rarely out of the British tabloids, thanks to the publicity department. The touring summer live ''
Radio 1 Roadshow The Radio 1 Roadshow was an annual summer event hosted and broadcast by BBC Radio 1 from 1973 to 1999. The roadshow ran over three decades of live broadcasts from beach resorts around the UK. The summer roadshows came to an end in July and August ...
'' – usually BBC Radio Weeks promotions that took Radio 1, 2 and 4 shows on the road – drew some of the largest crowds of the decade. The station played a role in maintaining the high sales of 45rpm single records, although it benefited from a lack of competition, apart from
Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
, and from
Manx Radio Manx Radio (legally Radio Manx Ltd.) () is the national commercial radio station for the Isle of Man. It began broadcasting on 29 June 1964, almost ten years before legal commercial radio was licensed in the United Kingdom. The Isle of Man, hav ...
in the Isle of Man. (
Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2 ...
did not begin until October 1973, took many years to cover virtually all the UK and was initially a mixture of music and talk).
Alan Freeman Alan Leslie Freeman MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting '' Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to 20 ...
's Saturday Rock Show was voted Best Radio Show five years running by readers of a national music publication, and was then axed by controller Derek Chinnery. News coverage was boosted in 1973 when ''
Newsbeat ''Newsbeat'' is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. ''Newsbeat'' is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for young people.
'' bulletins aired for the first time, and Richard Skinner joined as one of the new programme's presenters. On air, 1978 was the busiest year of the decade.
David Jensen David Allan Jensen (born 4 July 1950) is a Canadian-born British radio DJ and television presenter. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began as a radio DJ on Radio Luxembourg. Jensen was later a broadcaster for the BBC from 1976 to 19 ...
replaced
Dave Lee Travis David Patrick Griffin (born 25 May 1945), known professionally as Dave Lee Travis, is an English disc jockey and television presenter. He currently presents a Sunday programme between 10 am and 12 noon on ''Heritage Chart Radio''. Travis began ...
on the weekday drivetime programme so that DLT could replace
Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English businessman, and former television presenter, radio DJ, writer and producer. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK, pres ...
on the ''
Radio 1 Breakfast ''Radio 1 Breakfast'', also known as ''The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'', is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week un ...
'' show. Later in the year the Sunday teatime chart show extended from a Top 20 to a Top 40 countdown, and
Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal, along with ...
, one of the original presenters, rejoined the station to present a new programme, ''
The Friday Rock Show The ''Friday Rock Show'' was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 10pm to midnight on Friday nights, from 17 November 1978 until 2 April 1993. For most of its existence, it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Vance ...
''. On 23 November, Radio 1 moved from 247m (1214 kHz) to 275 and 285m (1053 & 1089 kHz) to improve national AM reception, and to conform with the
Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975 The Final Acts of the Regional Administrative LF/MF Broadcasting Conference (Regions 1 and 3) Geneva, 1975 is the internationally agreed frequency plan which was drawn up to implement the provisions of the Final Acts of the Regional Administrati ...
. Annie Nightingale, whose first Radio 1 programme aired on 5 October 1969, was Britain's first national female DJ (the earliest record presenter is thought to be Jean Metcalfe of ''
Family Favourites ''Family Favourites'' (remembered by its later name ''Two-Way Family Favourites'') was the successor to the wartime radio show ''Forces Favourites'', broadcast at Sunday lunchtimes on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2 from 1945 unti ...
'', but given that Metcalfe only presented the programme she is not considered a "true" DJ) and became its longest-serving presenter, evolving her musical tastes with the times. In 1978, Al Matthews became the first black disc jockey on Radio 1. His Saturday night show ''Discovatin'' was broadcast for over two years. During the summer a Wednesday show was also broadcast featuring live acts.


1980s

At the start of 1981,
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for mus ...
took over ''
The Radio 1 Breakfast Show ''Radio 1 Breakfast'', also known as ''The Radio 1 Breakfast Show'', is a radio show that is broadcast across the UK on BBC Radio 1. It is hosted by Greg James since 20 August 2018 as the show's 16th presenter. The show ran six days a week u ...
'' from
Dave Lee Travis David Patrick Griffin (born 25 May 1945), known professionally as Dave Lee Travis, is an English disc jockey and television presenter. He currently presents a Sunday programme between 10 am and 12 noon on ''Heritage Chart Radio''. Travis began ...
. Towards the end of the year, Steve Wright started the long-running ''
Steve Wright in the Afternoon ''Steve Wright in the Afternoon'' was the name given to the English DJ Steve Wright's popular radio shows. Wright's afternoon show was known by that name from 1989. Wright presented the afternoon show on BBC Radio 1 regularly from 30 March 198 ...
'' show. 1982 saw the end of ''
Junior Choice ''Junior Choice'' is a BBC Radio programme originally broadcast from 1954 until 1982 with Christmas specials from 2007 to present, with the exception of 2016. Originally broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on Saturday mornings from 9.10 to 9.55 ...
'' and it was replaced by '' Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show'', although the format based on children's requests continued for another two years. Adrian John and
Pat Sharp Patrick Sharpin known professionally as Pat Sharp, is an English radio presenter, television presenter and DJ. He worked on the children's ITV programme '' Fun House'', was one of the Sky Channel's VJs and presented the Coca-Cola Eurochart T ...
also joined for the early weekend shows.
Gary Davies Gary Davies (born 13 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. From 1982 to 1993 he was a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey and a regular presenter of ''Top of the Pops''. As of 2025, Davies can be heard on BBC Radio 2 presenting Saturday night show ' ...
and
Janice Long Janice Berry (née Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. The first female presenter to have a ...
also joined, hosting Saturday night late and evening shows respectively. In 1984,
Robbie Vincent Robbie Vincent (born 9 June 1946) is an English radio broadcaster and DJ. As a champion of jazz, funk and soul music in the UK during the late 1970s he made an important contribution both live in clubs and on radio. In 1995 he was voted Independ ...
joined to host a Sunday evening soul show. Mike Smith left for a while to present BBC1's '' Breakfast Time''; Gary Davies took over the weekday lunchtime slot.
Bruno Brookes Trevor Neil "Bruno" Brookes (born 1959 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) is an English former radio presenter who became prominent on British radio in the 1980s. He was CEO of in-store radio company Immedia from 2000 to 2020. Early life and ca ...
joined and replaced Peter Powell as presenter of the teatime show, with Powell replacing
Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...
on a new weekend breakfast show, which no longer contained children's requests. Blackburn left Radio 1 at this point. In 1985, Radio 1 relocated its studios in Broadcasting House to
Egton House Egton House in Langham Street in Central London was home to BBC Radio 1 from 1985 until 1996 and BBC Radio 3 for a period. Radio 1 moved to Yalding House on Great Portland Street in 1996, and Egton House was demolished in 2003 to make way for ...
. In March 1985,
Ranking Miss P Margaret Anderson, better known as The Ranking Miss P, is a British radio presenter and DJ. Biography After leaving school, Miss P studied to become a teacher, but was persuaded by her brother Leroy Anderson (DJ Lepke) to start broadcasting on ...
became the first black female DJ on the station, hosting a reggae programme. In July,
Andy Kershaw Andrew J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is an English broadcaster and disc jockey, predominantly on radio, and known for his interest in world music. Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, African music, spoken ...
joined the station.
Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...
joined in 1986, while Smith re-joined to replace Read on the breakfast show. In response to the growth in dance and rap music, Jeff Young joined in October 1987 with the ''Big Beat'' show. At the end of the year
Nicky Campbell Nicholas Andrew Argyll Campbell OBE (born Nicholas Lackey; 10 April 1961) is a Scottish broadcaster and journalist. He has worked in television and radio since 1981 and as a network presenter with BBC Radio since 1987. Early life Campbell wa ...
,
Mark Goodier Mark Goodier (born 9 June 1961) is a Zimbabwean-born British radio disc jockey and broadcaster best known for his time on BBC Radio 1 between 1987 and 2002. He had two spells presenting the station's Top 40 singles chart, from September 1990 ...
and
Liz Kershaw Elizabeth Marguerita Mary Kershaw (born 30 July 1958) is an English radio broadcaster. She is one of the longest serving female national radio DJs in the UK, celebrating 30 years on national BBC Radio in 2017. Career After graduating from the ...
all joined, and Janice Long left. Mayo replaced Smith on the breakfast show in May 1988. In September, Goodier and Kershaw took over weekend breakfasts with Powell departing. Campbell took over weekday evenings as part of a move into night-time broadcasting as 1 October 1988 saw Radio 1 extend broadcast hours until 02:00; previously the station had closed for the night at midnight. From September 1988, Radio 1 began its FM switch-on, with further major transmitter switch-ons in 1989 and 1990 but it was not until the mid-1990s that all existing BBC radio transmitters had Radio 1 added. Previously, Radio 1 had "borrowed" Radio 2's VHF/FM frequencies for around 25 hours each week.


1990s

On 1 May 1991, Radio 1 began 24-hour broadcasting, although only on FM, as the station's MW transmitters were switched off between midnight and 06:00. In 1992, Radio 1, for the first and only time, covered a
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
. Their coverage was presented by
Nicky Campbell Nicholas Andrew Argyll Campbell OBE (born Nicholas Lackey; 10 April 1961) is a Scottish broadcaster and journalist. He has worked in television and radio since 1981 and as a network presenter with BBC Radio since 1987. Early life Campbell wa ...
. In his last few months as controller, Johnny Beerling commissioned a handful of new shows that in some ways set the tone for what was to come under
Matthew Bannister Richard Matthew Bannister (born 16 March 1957) is a British media executive and broadcaster. Early career After attending King Edward VII School, Sheffield, he graduated in law at the University of Nottingham in 1978, and joined BBC Radio N ...
. One of these " Loud'n'proud" was the UK's first national radio series aimed at a gay audience, which was produced in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and aired from August 1993. Far from being a "parting quirk", the show was a surprise hit and led to the network's first coverage of the large outdoor
Gay Pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...
event in 1994. The Man Ezeke became Radio 1's first black regular daytime presenter when he began hosting on Sunday lunchtimes in January 1993. Bannister took the reins fully in October 1993. His aim was to rid the station of its " Smashie and Nicey" image in order to appeal to the under-25s. Although originally launched as a youth station, by the early 1990s, its loyal listeners and DJs had aged with the station over its 25-year history. Many long-standing DJs, such as
Simon Bates Simon Philip Bates (born 17 December 1946) is an English disc jockey and radio presenter. Between 1976 and 1993 he worked at BBC Radio 1, presenting the station's weekday mid-morning show for most of this period. He later became a regular prese ...
,
Dave Lee Travis David Patrick Griffin (born 25 May 1945), known professionally as Dave Lee Travis, is an English disc jockey and television presenter. He currently presents a Sunday programme between 10 am and 12 noon on ''Heritage Chart Radio''. Travis began ...
,
Alan Freeman Alan Leslie Freeman MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting '' Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to 20 ...
, Bob Harris,
Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born 2 April 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author. He is a dual citizen of the United States and United Kingdom, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Great Gambo" and ...
,
Gary Davies Gary Davies (born 13 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. From 1982 to 1993 he was a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey and a regular presenter of ''Top of the Pops''. As of 2025, Davies can be heard on BBC Radio 2 presenting Saturday night show ' ...
, and later Steve Wright,
Bruno Brookes Trevor Neil "Bruno" Brookes (born 1959 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) is an English former radio presenter who became prominent on British radio in the 1980s. He was CEO of in-store radio company Immedia from 2000 to 2020. Early life and ca ...
and
Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...
left the station or were dismissed, and in January 1995, older music (typically anything recorded before 1990) was dropped from the daytime
playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...
. Many listeners rebelled as the first new DJs to be introduced represented a crossover from other parts of the BBC (notably Bannister and Trevor Dann's former colleagues at the BBC's London station, GLR) with
Emma Freud Emma Vallencey Freud (born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator. Early life Freud was born in London on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud (1924–2009) and June ...
and
Danny Baker Danny Baker (born 22 June 1957) is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Throughout his career he has largely presented for London's regional radio and television. Baker was born in Deptford to a working-class fa ...
. Another problem was that, at the time, Radio 2 was sticking resolutely to a format which appealed mainly to those who had been listening since the days of the Light Programme, and commercial radio, which was targeting the "Radio 1 and a half" audience, consequently enjoyed a massive increase in its audience share at Radio 1's expense. After the departure of Steve Wright, who had been unsuccessfully moved from his long-running afternoon show to the breakfast show in January 1994, Bannister hired Chris Evans to present the breakfast show in April 1995. Evans was a popular presenter but was dismissed in 1997 after he demanded to present the breakfast show for only four days per week. Evans was replaced from 17 February 1997 by
Mark and Lard Mark and Lard is the stage name of Mark Radcliffe (Mark) and Marc Riley (Lard), who presented various weekday shows on BBC Radio 1 from 1991 to March 2004. Career Radcliffe, then a Radio 1 producer, began presenting specialist shows on the ne ...
Mark Radcliffe and his sidekick
Marc Riley Marc Riley (born 10 July 1961) is an English radio DJ, alternative rock critic, musician, and former music businessman. He currently presents on BBC Radio 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he co-owned a record label, In-Tape, and also w ...
– who found the slick, mass-audience style required for a breakfast show did not come naturally to them. They were replaced by
Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after G ...
and
Kevin Greening Kevin Greening (30 December 1962 – 29 December 2007) was a British radio presenter, who co-hosted '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' on BBC Radio 1 with Zoe Ball from 13 October 1997 to 25 September 1998. Early career Kevin Greening grew up in Bristol ...
eight months later in October 1997; Greening soon moved on, leaving Ball as sole presenter. The reinvention of the station happened at a fortuitous time, with the rise of
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
in the mid-1990s – bands like
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentBlur and
Pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit * Pulp (band), an English rock band Engineering * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture ...
were popular and credible at the time, and the station's popularity rose with them. Documentaries like John Peel's ''Lost in Music'', which looked at the influence that the use of drugs have had over popular musicians, received critical acclaim but were slated inside
Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...
. At just before 09:00 on 1 July 1994, Radio 1 broadcast on
medium wave Medium wave (MW) is a part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytim ...
for the final time. In March 1995, Radio 1 hosted an "Interactive Radio Night" with Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq broadcasting from Cyberia, an
internet café An Internet café, also known as a cybercafé, is a Coffeehouse, café (or a convenience store or a fully dedicated Internet access business) that provides the use of computers with high bandwidth Internet access on the payment of a fee. Usage ...
and featuring live performances by Orbital via
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a set of communication standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the digitalised circuits of the public switched telephone network. ...
. Later in the 1990s the Britpop boom declined, and manufactured chart pop (boy bands and acts aimed at sub-teenagers) came to dominate the charts. New-genre music occupied the evenings (indie on weekdays and dance at weekends), with a mix of specialist shows and playlist fillers through late nights. The rise of
rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
culture through the late 1980s and early 1990s gave the station the opportunity to move into a controversial and youth-orientated movement by bringing in club DJ
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
amongst others. There had been a dance music programme on Radio 1 since 1987 and Pete Tong (now the current longest-serving DJ at the station) was the second DJ to present an all dance music show. This quickly gave birth to the
Essential Mix The ''Essential Mix'' is a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 1 currently broadcast between 0:00 and 2:00 a.m. UK time on Saturday morning. Originally broadcast on 30 October 1993, the ''Essential Mix'' features contemporary DJs and music pr ...
where underground DJs mix electronic and club based music in a two-hour slot. Dance and urban music has been a permanent feature on Radio 1 since with club DJs such as
Judge Jules Julius O'Riordan (born 26 October 1965), better known by his stage name Judge Jules, is a British dance music DJ, record producer and entertainment lawyer. He is known for his DJ activities, music production and long-running radio show which ac ...
,
Danny Rampling Daniel Rampling (born 15 July 1961), better known as Danny Rampling is an English house music DJ and is widely credited as one of the original founders of the UK's rave/club scene. His long career began in the early 1980s playing hip-hop, soul ...
,
Trevor Nelson Trevor Ricardo Nelson, MBE (born 7 January 1964) is an English DJ and radio presenter. He is best known for presenting a range of shows across BBC Radio. Early life Born in Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, Nelson attended Centra ...
, and the Dreem Teem all moving from London's
Kiss 100 Kiss is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Kiss Network. Kiss broadcasts nationally to the UK via DAB digital radio, as well as on Bauer's Rayo platform. The station started in 1985 as ...
to the station.


2000s

Listening numbers continued to decline. Radio 1 was challenged by an increasing number of new radio stations targeting youth such as
Galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...
,
Kerrang! 105.2 Kerrang! Radio is a British specialist rock music radio station related to ''Kerrang!'' magazine, broadcast nationally on DAB and online. Launched in 2002, it is owned and operated by Bauer Media and forms part of the Kerrang! Network, which ...
,
NME Radio The Music Machine (TMM) is a pair of British radio stations that broadcast an alternative music format. It is owned and operated by Sammy Jacob, founder of the original Radio X (United Kingdom), XFM. The station dates back to NME Radio which broadc ...
and Virgin Radio Xtreme, as well as BBC's own digital TV station
BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...
. The breakfast show and the UK Top 40 continued to struggle. In 2000,
Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after G ...
was replaced in the mornings by close friend and fellow
ladette Lad culture (also the new lad, laddism) was a media-driven, principally British and Irish subculture of the 1990s and the early 2000s. The term ''lad culture'' continues to be used today to refer to collective, boorish or misogynistic behaviour by ...
Sara Cox Sara Joanne Cyzer ( born 13 December 1974), better known as Sara Cox, is an English broadcaster and author. A presenter on BBC Radio 2, she has been hosting the station's drivetime show since January 2019. She previously presented BBC Radio 1's ...
. The success of Moyles' show has come alongside increased success for the station in general. In 2006, DJs
Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2, where he has be ...
and
Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...
won gold
Sony Radio Awards The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...
, while the station itself came away with the best station award. A new evening schedule was introduced in September 2006, dividing the week by genre.


2010s

The licence-fee funding of Radio 1, alongside Radio 2, is often criticised by the commercial sector. In the first quarter of 2011 Radio 1 was part of an efficiency review conducted by John Myers. His role, according to Andrew Harrison, the chief executive of RadioCentre, was "to identify both areas of best practice and possible savings." The controller of Radio 1 and sister station 1Xtra changed to
Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American film and television actor who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in Westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in '' Life with Father'' (1939). He debuted in th ...
on 28 October 2011, following the departure of Andy Parfitt. Ben Cooper answered to the Director of BBC Audio and Music, Tim Davie. On 7 December 2011, Ben Cooper's first major changes to the station were announced. Skream & Benga,
Toddla T Thomas Mackenzie Bell (born 22 February 1985), better known by the stage name of Toddla T, is an English DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Biography Bell was raised in Sheffield where he attended Ki ...
,
Charlie Sloth Charlie Ian Paul Rouillon (born 20 August 1981), known professionally as Charlie Sloth, is a British DJ, hype man, producer and TV presenter. Early life Friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of t ...
replaced Judge Jules, Gilles Peterson, Kissy Sell Out and Fabio & Grooverider. A number of shows were shuffled to incorporate the new line-up. On 28 February 2012, further changes were announced. Greg James and Scott Mills swapped shows and Jameela Jamil, Gemma Cairney and Danny Howard joined the station. The new line-up of DJs for ''In New DJs We Trust'' was also announced with B.Traits, Mosca, Jordan Suckley and Julio Bashmore hosting shows on a four weekly rotation. This new schedule took effect on Monday, 2 April 2012. In September 2012, Nick Grimshaw replaced Chris Moyles as host of "Radio 1's Breakfast Show". Grimshaw previously hosted Mon-Thurs 10pm-Midnight, Weekend Breakfast and Sunday evenings alongside Annie Mac. Grimshaw was replaced by Phil Taggart and Alice Levine on the 10pm-Midnight show. In November 2012, another series of changes were announced. This included the departure of Reggie Yates and Vernon Kay. Jameela Jamil was announced as the new presenter of ''The Official Chart''. Matt Edmondson moved to weekend mornings with Tom Deacon briefly replacing him on Wednesday nights. Daniel Howell and Phil Lester, famous YouTubers and video bloggers, joined the station. The changes took effect in January 2013. Former presenter Sara Cox hosted her last show on Radio 1 in February 2014 before moving back to Radio 2. In March 2014, Gemma Cairney left the weekend breakfast show to host the weekday early breakfast slot, swapping shows with Dev. In September 2014, Radio 1 operated a series of changes to their output which saw many notable presenters leave the station – including Edith Bowman, Nihal and Rob da Bank. Huw Stephens gained a new show hosting 10pm1am MondayWednesday with Alice Levine presenting weekends 1pm4pm. Radio 1's Residency also expanded with Skream joining the rotational line-up on Thursday nights (10pm1am). From December 2014 to April 2016, Radio 1 included a weekly late night show presented by a well known Internet personality called ''The Internet Takeover''. Shows have been presented by various YouTubers such as Jim Chapman (Internet celebrity), Jim Chapman and Hannah Witton. In January 2015, Clara Amfo replaced Jameela Jamil as host of The Official Chart on Sundays (4pm7pm) and in March, Zane Lowe left Radio 1 and was replaced by Annie Mac on the new music evening show. In May 2015, Fearne Cotton left the station after 10 years of broadcasting. Her weekday mid-morning show was taken over by Clara Amfo. Adele Roberts also joined the weekday schedule line-up, hosting the Early Breakfast show. In July 2015, the Official Chart moved to a Friday from 4pm to 5:45pm, hosted by Greg James. The move took place to take into account the changes to the release dates of music globally. Cel Spellman joined the station to host Sunday evenings. In September 2017, a new slot namely Radio 1's Greatest Hits was introduced for weekends 10am-1pm. The show started on 2 September 2017. On 30 September 2017, Radio 1 celebrated its 50th birthday. Commemorations included a three-day pop-up station, 'Radio 1 Vintage', celebrating the station's presenters and special on-air programmes on the day itself, including a special breakfast show co-presented by the station's launch DJ
Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...
, which is also broadcast on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
. In October 2017, another major schedule change was announced. Friction left the station. The change features Charlie Sloth gained a new slot called 'The 8th' which aired Mon-Thu 9-11pm. Other changes include MistaJam took over Danny Howard on the Dance Anthems. Katie Thistleton joined Cel Spellman on Sunday evenings, namely 'Life Hacks' (4-6pm) which features content from the Radio 1 Surgery, and Most Played (6-7pm). Danny Howard would host a new show on Friday 11pm-1am. Huw Stephens's show pushed to 11pm-1am. Kan D Man and DJ Limelight joined the station to host a weekly Asian Beats show on Sundays between 1-3am, René LaVice, Rene LaVice joined the station with the Drum & Bass show on Tuesdays 1-3am. Phil Taggart presented the Hype Chart on Tuesdays 3-4am. In February 2018, the first major schedule change of the year happened on the weekend. This saw Maya Jama and Jordan North join BBC Radio 1 to present the Radio 1's Greatest Hits, which would be on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Alice Levine moved to the breakfast slot to join Dev. Matt Edmondson would replace Alice Levine's original slot in the afternoon and joined by a different guest co-presenter each week. The changes took into effect on 24 February 2018. In April 2018, another major schedule change was made due to the incorporation of weekend schedule on Fridays. This means that Nick Grimshaw, Clara Amfo and Greg James would host four days in a week.
Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2, where he has be ...
became the new host for The Official Chart and Dance Anthems, which replaces Greg James, and Maya Jama would present The Radio 1's Greatest Hits on 10am-1pm. Mollie King joined Matt Edmondson officially on the 1-4pm slot, namely 'Matt and Mollie'. The changes took into effect on 15 June 2018. In May 2018, it was announced that Nick Grimshaw would leave the Breakfast Show after six years, the second longest run hosting the show in history (only second to Chris Moyles). However, Grimshaw did not leave the station, but swapped slots with Greg James, who hosted the home time show from 4-7pm weekdays. This change took place as of 20 August 2018 for the Radio 1 Breakfast Show (which was then renamed to Radio 1 Breakfast). Grimshaw's show started on 3 September 2018. In June 2018, another series of schedule changes was announced. This sees the BBC Introducing Show with Huw Stephens on Sundays 11pm-1am. Jack Saunders (presenter), Jack Saunders joined the station and presented Radio 1 Indie Show from Monday-Thursday 11pm-1am. Other changes include the shows rearrangement of Sunday evenings. Phil Taggart's chillest show moved to 7-9pm, then followed by The Rock Show with Daniel P Carter at 9-11pm. The changes took into effect in September 2018. In October 2018, Charlie Sloth announced that he was leaving Radio 1 and 1Xtra after serving the station for nearly 10 years. He was hosting The 8th and The Rap Show at that point. His last show was expected to be on 3 November 2018. However, Charlie had been in the spotlight for storming the stage and delivering a sweary, Kanye West-esque rant at the Audio & Radio Industry Awards (ARIAS) on Thursday 18 October 2018, which points towards Edith Bowman. Charlie was nominated for best specialist music show at the ARIAS – a category he lost out on to ''Soundtracking with Edith Bowman'' and prompting him to appear on stage during her acceptance. He apologised on Twitter regarding this issue and Radio 1 had agreed with Charlie that he will not do the 10 remaining shows that were originally planned. This meant that his last show ended on 18 October 2018. From 20 October 2018 onwards, Seani B filled his The Rap Show slot on 9pm-11pm and Dev (DJ), Dev covered "The 8th" beginning 22 October 2018. In the same month, B.Traits announced that she was leaving BBC Radio 1 after six years of commitment. She said she feels as though she can no longer devote the necessary time needed to make the show the best it can be, and is moving on to focus on new projects and adventures. Her last show was on 26 October 2018. The Essential Mix was then shifted earlier to 1am-3am, followed by Radio 1's Wind-Down from 3 am to 6 am. The changes took effect from 2 November 2018 onwards. At the end of October 2018, Dev's takeover on The 8th resulted in the swapping between Matt Edmondson and Mollie King's show with Dev and Alice Levine's show. This meant that Matt and Mollie became the new Weekend Breakfast hosts, and Dev and Alice became the afternoon show hosts. The changes came into effect on 16 November 2018. On 15 November 2018, Radio 1 announced that Tiffany Calver, who has previously hosted a dedicated hip-hop show on the new-music station KissFresh, would join the station and host the Rap Show. The change took effect from 5 January 2019. On 26 November 2018, Radio 1 announced that the new hosts for the evening slot previously hosted by Charlie Sloth would be Rickie Haywood-Williams, Melvin Odoom, and Charlie Hedges. The trio previously presented on Kiss's breakfast show. The change took effect in April 2019. In July 2019 it was announced that there would be two new shows on the weekend, the weekend early breakfast show and best new pop, both of which started on 6 September 2019. The weekend early morning breakfast show would be and is currently hosted by Arielle Free. It is broadcast between 04:00–06:00 on Friday and Saturday and Sunday between 05:00–07:00. 


2020s

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were temporary changes. In March 2020, ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' began later at 7 am to 11 am.
Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2, where he has be ...
would also present his show from 1 pm-3 pm with Nick Grimshaw starting until 6 pm. BBC Radio 1 Dance Anthems now started from 3 pm with 2 hours Classic Anthems and it would end at 7 pm. In July 2020, Alice Levine and Cel Spellman announced their resignation from BBC Radio 1. In September, Vick Hope was announced to join Katie Thistleton, replacing Spellman. In September 2020, a new schedule was announced, which saw ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' air from 7am to 10.30am, followed by Clara Amfo from 10.30am to 12.45pm, Scott Mills from 1pm to 3.30pm and Nick Grimshaw from 3.30pm to 5.45pm. Evening slots were also all brought forward by an hour. On 26 September 2020, MistaJam left BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra after 15 years. It was announced that Charlie Hedges would take over Dance Anthems from 3 October 2020. BBC Radio 1 Dance launched on Friday 9 October. In November 2020 it was confirmed that Dev (DJ), Dev Griffin, Huw Stephens, and Phil Taggart would all be leaving the station at the end of the year. From January 2021, ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' was to return to five days per week while Arielle Free would host Early Breakfast (Mon-Thu 0500–0700) and three new presenters were to take turns hosting the early breakfast slot on Fridays. Adele Roberts left Early Breakfast after five years, moving to Weekend Breakfast (Sat-Sun 0700–1030). Matt Edmondson and Mollie King returned to Weekend Afternoons (Fri-Sun 1300–1600). On Sunday evenings, Sian Eleri replaced Phil Taggart as host of the Chillest Show and Gemma Bradley replaced Huw Stephens on BBC Introducing. On 9 April 2021, BBC Radio 1 and other BBC radio stations were cut at 12:10pm for the national anthem following the Death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the stations then carried the BBC Radio News special programme until 4pm. Radio 1 then played music without vocals and on 10 and 11 April 2021 played downtempo and chilled music. On 20 April 2021, Annie Mac announced she was leaving the station. She was replaced by Clara Amfo on Future Sounds on Monday to Thursday evenings, with Danny Howard taking over her Friday night Dance Party show. Rickie, Melvin and Charlie replaced Amfo in the daytime schedule, whilst Jack Saunders began hosting Monday to Thursday evenings from 8pm to 10pm. On 21 April 2021, Radio 1 Relax launched on BBC Sounds, playing relaxing music and sounds such as wind and rain. After 14 years on BBC Radio 1, Nick Grimshaw announced he would be leaving the station, with Vick Hope and Jordan North taking over the time-slot. Grimshaw broadcast his final show on 12 August 2021. Vick and Jordan's new show first aired on 6 September 2021. Vick continued to co-host Life Hacks alongside Katie Thistleton, while Dean McCullough joined BBC Radio 1 to host Friday-Sunday 1030–1300. On 1 July 2022, it was announced that Scott Mills and Chris Stark would leave the station to host shows on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
and Capital (radio network), Capital respectively. They were replaced in their daytime afternoon slot by Dean McCullough and Vicky Hawkesworth, who hosted their show from Salford, with Jack Saunders (presenter), Jack Saunders taking over from Mills as the host of The Official Chart. Katie Thistleton replaced McCullough on Friday and Saturday mornings, with Nat O'Leary hosting a new show, Radio 1 00s, on Sunday mornings from 11am to 1pm. On 8 September 2022, Radio 1 and the other radio stations were cut at 6:32pm to report the Death of Queen Elizabeth II and carried a BBC Radio News special. Radio 1 resumed broadcasts at 7am on 9 September 2022, playing downtempo music throughout the day and over the weekend. Radio 1 returned to normal programming on 11 September 2022. On 9 September 2023, Sam MacGregor and Danni Diston replaced Adele Roberts as the host of Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show. On 7 February 2024, the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
announced plans to launch a new Radio 1 spin-off station on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB and online via
BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...
. The Radio 1 spin-off will focus on music from the 2000s and 2010s, catering to the appetite from young audiences for recent nostalgia. The spin-off station was eventually launched on 8 November 2024 as BBC Radio 1 Anthems. On 16 February 2024, it was announced that Jordan North would leave the station to host Capital Breakfast alongside Siân Welby and Chris Stark. Katie Thistleton and Jamie Laing began hosting the Going Home show alongside Vick Hope from 4 March 2024. On 1 July 2024, a new schedule launched, which saw Matt Edmondson and Mollie King begin hosting the weekday afternoon show. Dean McCullough took over from Arielle Free as the host of Early Breakfast, which moved to Salford, with Vicky Hawkesworth and Nat O'Leary hosting Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings from 10.30am to 1pm. Edmondson and King were eventually replaced in their weekend slot by Sam MacGregor and Danni Diston from January 2025, with James Cusack joining the station to host Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show, which also moved to Salford.


Broadcast


Studios

From inception for over 20 years, Radio 1 broadcast from an adjacent pair of continuity suites (originally Con A and Con B) in the main control room of Broadcasting House. These cons were configured to allow DJs to operate the equipment themselves and play their own records and jingle cartridges (called self-op). This was a departure from traditional BBC practice, where a studio manager would play in discs from the studio control cubicle. Due to needle time restrictions, much of the music was played from tapes of BBC session recordings. The DJs were assisted by one or more technical operators (TOs) who would set up tapes and control sound levels during broadcasts. In 1985, Radio 1 moved across the road from
Broadcasting House London Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. T ...
to
Egton House Egton House in Langham Street in Central London was home to BBC Radio 1 from 1985 until 1996 and BBC Radio 3 for a period. Radio 1 moved to Yalding House on Great Portland Street in 1996, and Egton House was demolished in 2003 to make way for ...
. The station moved to Yalding House in 1996, and Egton House was demolished in 2003 to make way for an extension to Broadcasting House. This extension would eventually be renamed the Egton Wing, and then the Peel Wing. Until 2012, the studios were located in the basement of Yalding House (near to BBC Broadcasting House) on Great Portland Street in central London. They used to broadcast from two main studios in the basement; Y2 and Y3 (there is also a smaller studio, YP1, used mainly for production). These two main studios (Y2 and Y3) are separated by the "Live Lounge", although it is mainly used as an office; live sets are rarely recorded from it, for Maida Vale Studios is used instead for larger set-ups. The studios are linked by webcams and windows through the "Live Lounge", allowing DJs to see each other when changing between shows. Y2 is the studio from where ''The Chris Moyles Show'' was broadcast and is also the studio rigged with static cameras for when the station broadcasts on the "Live Cam". In December 2012, Radio 1 moved from Yalding House to new studios on the 8th floor of the new BBC Broadcasting House, Portland Place, just a few metres away from the "Peel Wing", formerly the "Egton Wing", which occupies the land on which Egton House previously stood: it was renamed the "Peel Wing" in 2012 in honour of the long-serving BBC Radio 1 presenter,
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
, who broadcast on the station from its launch in 1967 until his death in 2004. Programmes have also regularly been broadcast from other regions, notably ''The Mark and Lard Show'', broadcast every weekday from New Broadcasting House (Manchester), New Broadcasting House, Oxford Road,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
for over a decade (October 1993–March 2004). In August 2022, the studio 82A (from which Radio 1 broadcasts) was renamed 82Mills, following the departure of the long-running DJ
Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2, where he has be ...
.


UK analogue frequencies

Radio 1 originally broadcast on medium wave, AM (or 247 metres). On 23 November 1978, the station was moved to and (275 and 285 m). The BBC had been allocated three FM frequency ranges in 1955, for the then Light Programme (now
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...
), BBC Third Programme, Third Programme (now BBC Radio 3) and BBC Home Service, Home Service (now BBC Radio 4) stations. When Radio 1 was launched, there was no FM frequency range allocated for the station. The official reason given was that there was no space, even though no commercial stations had yet been launched on FM. As a compromise, Radio 1 was allocated Radio 2's FM transmitters for a few hours each week - on Saturday afternoons from 1pm until 7pm, Sunday teatime from 5pm until midnight, Monday to Friday nights from 10pm until midnight (This was also due to the AM signal tropo interference from Europe at that time) and Bank Holiday afternoons from 2pm until 7pm when Radio 2 was broadcasting on medium wave, the holiday edition of ''5 Live Sport, Sport on 2''.


Full-time FM broadcasting

Due to the rising competition from commercial FM stations, the BBC began to draw up plans for Radio 1 to broadcast on FM full time. This process began in London on 31 October 1987, at low power on a temporary frequency of . The Department of Trade and Industry (predecessor to Ofcom) who were then the regulators for allocation of radio bandwidths in the UK, began to free up FM police and emergency communication frequencies which were operating from 97.9 MHz to 102.0 MHz. This was in preparation for new FM radio stations planned for the future. The BBC acquired 97.9 FM to 99.8 FM specifically for Radio 1. The rollout of Radio 1 on FM nationally began on 1 September 1988, starting with Central Region, Scotland, Central Scotland (98.6 MHz), the Midlands (98.4 MHz) and the north of England (98.8 MHz). On 24 November 1988, Belfast was added to the network on another temporary frequency on 96.0 MHz. From October 1988, due to the expansion of Radio 1's FM network, Radio 1 scaled back its airtime on Radio 2's FM frequencies in two phases - Phase 1 ending on weeknights (10pm–midnight) and Sunday evenings (7pm–midnight). As the FM engineering programme progressed, Phase 2 was introduced from December 1989 - ceasing Saturday afternoons (1pm to 7pm) and Phase 3 from March 1990 - Sunday slot for the UK Top 40 (5pm-7pm). After 23 years, the shared FM frequency alliance between Radios 1 and 2 came to an end. This resulted with BBC Radio 2 transmitting on FM full-time, where Radio 2's former AM frequencies - 693 & 909 - were allocated to BBC Radio 5. Radio 1 made great efforts to promote its new FM service, renaming itself on-air initially as 'Radio 1 FM' and later as '1FM' until 1995. After reorganisation and a change of transmitter reallocation of the FM frequencies, especially in London (from 104.8 to 98.8 MHz), the Midlands (98.4 to 97.9 MHz) and Belfast (96.0 to 99.7 MHz), the engineering programme was completed in 1995. Until 2024, the station's Radio Data System, RDS name displayed "Radio 1". Since 2024 the RDS name now displays as "BBC R1" in line with the other BBC stations.


End of medium wave broadcasting - 1053 / 1089 kHz

The Conservative government decided to increase competition on AM and disallowed the simulcasting of services on both AM and FM, affecting both BBC and
Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2 ...
. Radio 1's
medium wave Medium wave (MW) is a part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytim ...
frequencies were reallocated to Independent National Radio. Radio 1's last broadcast on MW was on 1 July 1994, with Stephen Duffy's "Kiss Me" being the last record played on MW just before 9am. For those who continued to listen, just after 9am, Radio 1 jingles were played in reverse chronological order ending with its first jingle from 30 September 1967. In the initial months after this closure, a pre-recorded message by
Mark Goodier Mark Goodier (born 9 June 1961) is a Zimbabwean-born British radio disc jockey and broadcaster best known for his time on BBC Radio 1 between 1987 and 2002. He had two spells presenting the station's Top 40 singles chart, from September 1990 ...
was played to advise listeners that Radio 1 was now an "FM-only" station and to retune to the FM frequency. Around this time, Radio 1 began broadcasting on spare audio subcarriers on Sky Television (1984–1990), Sky Television's via Astra's SES satellite analogue service; initially in mono (on Gold (UK TV channel), UK Gold) and later in stereo (on Sky Living, UK Living) transponders. The 1053 / 1089 frequencies were allocated to the then newly created Talk Radio UK.


Digital distribution

The BBC launched its national radio stations on Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB digital radio in 1995; however, the technology was expensive at the time and so was not marketed, instead used as a test for future technologies. DAB was "officially" launched in 2002 as sets became cheaper. Today it can also be heard on UK digital TV services Freeview (UK), Freeview, Virgin Media, Sky (UK and Ireland), Sky and the Internet as well as FM. In July 2005, Sirius Satellite Radio began simulcasting Radio 1 across the United States as channel 11 on its own service and channel 6011 on Dish Network satellite TV. Sirius Canada began simulcasting Radio 1 when it was launched on 1 December 2005 (also on channel 11). The Sirius simulcasts were Time shifting, time shifted five hours to allow US and Canadian listeners in the Eastern Time Zone (North America), Eastern Time Zone to hear Radio 1 at the same time of day as UK listeners. On 12 November 2008, Radio 1 made its debut on XM Satellite Radio in both the US and Canada on channel 29, moving to XM 15 and Sirius 15 on 4 May 2011. Until the full station was removed in August 2011, Radio 1 was able to be heard by approximately 20.6 million listeners in North America on satellite radio alone. BBC Radio 1 can be heard on cable in the Netherlands at 105.10 FM.


SiriusXM cancellation in North America

At midnight on 9 August 2011, Sirius XM Radio, Sirius XM ceased carrying BBC Radio 1 programming with no prior warning. On 10 August 2011 the BBC issued the following statement:
The BBC's commercial arm BBC Worldwide has been in partnership with SIRIUS Satellite Radio to broadcast Radio 1 on their main network, since 2005. This agreement has now unfortunately come to an end and BBC Worldwide are in current discussions with the satellite radio station to find ways to continue to bring popular music channel, BBC Radio 1, to the US audience. We will keep you posted.
Thousands of angry Sirius XM customers began a campaign on Facebook and other social media to reinstate BBC Radio 1 on Sirius XM Radio. One week later, Sirius and the BBC agreed on a new carriage agreement that saw Radio 1 broadcast on a time-shifted format on the Sirius XM Internet Radio platform only, on channel 815. Starting on 15 January 2012, ''The Official Chart Show'' began broadcasting on SiriusXM ''20on20'' channel 3, at 4pm and 9pm Eastern Time Zone, Eastern Standard Time.


Regionalisation

From 1999 until 2012, Radio 1 split the home nations for localised programming in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to allow the broadcast of a showcase programme for regional talent. Most recently, these shows were under the BBC Introducing brand. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had their own shows, which were broadcast on a 3-week rotational basis in England. From January 2011 until June 2012, Scotland's show was presented by Ally McCrae. Previously it was hosted by Vic Galloway (who also presents for BBC Radio Scotland); who had presented the show solo since 2004, after his original co-host Gill Mills departed. Wales's show was hosted by Jen Long between January 2011 until May 2012. Previously Bethan Elfyn occupied the slot, who had at one time hosted alongside Huw Stephens, until Stephens left to join the national network, although he still broadcasts a show for Wales – a Welsh-language music show on BBC Radio Cymru on Thursday evenings. Phil Taggart presented the Northern Ireland programme between November 2011 and May 2012. The show was formerly presented by Rory McConnell. Before joining the national network, Colin Murray was a presenter on ''The Session'' in Northern Ireland, along with Donna Legge; after Murray's promotion to the network Legge hosted alone for a time, and on her departure McConnell took her place. The regional opt-outs originally went out from 8pm to 10pm on Thursdays (the ''Evening Session''s time slot) and were known as the "Session in the Nations" (the "Session" tag was later dropped due to the demise of the ''Evening Session''); they later moved to run from 7:30pm to 9pm, with the first half-hour of Zane Lowe's programme going out across the whole of the UK. On 18 October 2007 the regional programmes moved to a Wednesday night/Thursday morning slot from midnight to 2am under the ''BBC Introducing'' banner, allowing Lowe's Thursday show to be aired across the network; prior to this change Huw Stephens had presented the Wednesday midnight show nationally. In January 2011, BBC Introducing was moved to the new time slot of midnight to 2am on Monday mornings, and the Scottish and Welsh shows were given new presenters in the form of Ally McCrae and Jen Long. The opt-outs were only available to listeners on the FM frequencies. Because of the way the DAB and digital TV services of Radio 1 are broadcast (a single-frequency network on DAB and a single broadcast feed of Radio 1 on TV platforms), the digital version of the station was not regionalised. The BBC Trust announced in May 2012 that the regional music programmes on Radio 1 would be replaced with a single programme offering a UK-wide platform for new music as part of a series of cost-cutting measures across the BBC. In June 2012, the regional shows ended and were replaced by a single ''BBC Introducing'' show presented by Jen Long and Ally McCrae.


Content


Music

Because of its youth-orientated nature, Radio 1 plays a broad mix of current and potential future hits, including indie rock, independent/alternative rock, alternative, hip hop music, hip hop, rock, dance/
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
and pop. This made the station stand out from other contemporary hit radio, top 40 stations, both in the UK and across the world. Since its progressive view on modern electronic music, the BBC Radio 1 is well-liked and known in the worldwide drum and bass community, frequently hosting producers and DJs like Hybrid Minds or Wilkinson (musician), Wilkinson. Due to restrictions on the amount of commercial music that could be played on radio in the UK until 1988 (the "
needle time Needle or Needles may refer to: Crafting * Crochet needle, a tool for making loops in thread or yarn * Knitting needle, a tool for knitting, not as sharp as a sewing needle * Sewing needle, a long slender tool with a pointed tip * Trussing needle ...
" limitation) the station has recorded many live performances. Studio sessions (recordings of about four tracks made in a single day), also supplemented the live music content, many of them finding their way to commercially available LPs and CDs. The sessions recorded for
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
's late night programme are particularly renowned. The station has continued to record live music with its Live Lounge feature and the Piano Sessions, which started in November 2014. The station also broadcasts documentaries and interviews. Although this type of programming arose from necessity it has given the station diversity. The needletime restrictions meant the station tended to have a higher level of speech by DJs. While the station is often criticised for "waffling" by presenters, an experimental "more music day" in 1988 was declared a failure after only a third of callers favoured it.


News and current affairs

Radio 1 has a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public service broadcasting obligation to provide news, which it fulfills through
Newsbeat ''Newsbeat'' is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. ''Newsbeat'' is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for young people.
bulletins throughout the day. Shared with
1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and Urban contemporary music, urban music, including Hip hop music, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, ...
and BBC Asian Network, Asian Network, short news summaries are provided roughly hourly on the half-hour between 06:30 and 16:30, with two additional 15-minute bulletins at 12:45 and 17:45 and nine summaries over the weekend and Bank Holiday between 07:30 and 15:30.


Online visualisation and social media

In recent years Radio 1 has used social media to help reach a younger audience. Its YouTube channel now has over 7.5 million subscribers. The highest viewed videos on the channel are predominately live music performances from the Live Lounge. The station also has a heavy presence on social media, with audience interaction occurring through Facebook and Twitter as well as Short Message Service, text messaging. It was announced in 2013 that Radio 1 had submitted plans to launch its own dedicated video channel on the BBC iPlayer where videos of live performances as well as some features and shows would be streamed in a central location. Plans were approved by the BBC Trust in November 2014 and the channel launched on 10 November 2014.


Special programming


Bank Holiday programming

Radio 1 provides alternative programming on some Bank Holidays. Programmes have included 'The 10 Hour Takeover', a request-based special, in which the DJs on air would encourage listeners to select any available track to play, 'One Hit Wonder Day' and 'The Chart of the Decade' where the 150 biggest selling singles in the last 10 years were counted down and played in full.


Anniversary programming

On Sunday 30 September 2007, Radio 1 celebrated its 40th birthday. To mark this anniversary Radio 1 hosted a week of special features, including a re-creation of Simon Bates' The Golden Hour (Radio Feature), Golden Hour, and 40 different artists performing 40 different covers, one from each year since Radio 1 was established. On Saturday 30 September 2017, Radio 1 celebrated its 50th birthday.
Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and television presenter, whose career spans over 60 years. Blackburn first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio Londo ...
recreated the first ever Radio 1 broadcast on Radio 2, simulcast on pop-up station Radio 1 Vintage, followed by The Radio 1 Breakfast Show celebration, tricast on Radio 1, Radio 2 and Radio 1 Vintage, presented by Tony Blackburn and Nick Grimshaw, featuring former presenters as guests
Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...
,
Sara Cox Sara Joanne Cyzer ( born 13 December 1974), better known as Sara Cox, is an English broadcaster and author. A presenter on BBC Radio 2, she has been hosting the station's drivetime show since January 2019. She previously presented BBC Radio 1's ...
and
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for mus ...
.


Charity

Radio 1 regularly supports the BBC's in house charities Comic Relief, Sport Relief and Children in Need. On 18 March 2011, BBC's Radio 1 longest-serving breakfast DJ Chris Moyles and sidekick Comedy Dave, Dave Vitty broadcast for 52 hours as part of a Guinness World Records, Guinness World Record attempt, in aid of Comic Relief. The pair stayed on air for 52 hours in total setting a new world record for 'Radio DJ Endurance Marathon (Team)' after already breaking
Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...
's 12-year record for Radio 1's Longest Show of 37 hours which he set in 1999, also for Comic Relief. The presenters started on 16 March 2011 and came off air at 10:30 am on 18 March 2011. During this Fearne Cotton made a bet with DJ Chris Moyles that if they raise over £2,000,000 she will appear on the show in a swimsuit. After passing the £2,000,000 mark, Cotton appeared on the studio webcam in a stripy monochrome swimsuit. The appearance of Cotton between 10:10 am and 10:30 am caused the Radio 1 website to crash due to a high volume of traffic. In total the event raised £2,622,421 for Comic Relief.


Drama

In 1981, Radio 1 broadcast a radio adaptation of the space opera film, ''Star Wars (radio), Star Wars''. The 13-episode serial was adapted for radio by the author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden (director), John Madden, and was a International co-production, co-production between the BBC and the American Broadcaster NPR. In 1994, Radio 1 broadcast a radio adaptation of the ''Batman'' comic book storyline Knightfall, as part of the Mark Goodier show, featuring Michael Gough recreating his movie role as Alfred. Later that same year, Radio 1 also broadcast a re-edited version of the BBC Radio 4, Radio 4 Superman radio drama.


Comedy

Notable comedy programming includes two series of fast-paced sketches, songs and hoax phone calls by Victor Lewis-Smith in his signature style which garnered a Best Comedy Radio Programme award in the 1990 British Comedy Awards.


Events


Radio 1 Roadshows

The
Radio 1 Roadshow The Radio 1 Roadshow was an annual summer event hosted and broadcast by BBC Radio 1 from 1973 to 1999. The roadshow ran over three decades of live broadcasts from beach resorts around the UK. The summer roadshows came to an end in July and August ...
, which usually involved Radio 1 DJs and pop stars travelling around popular UK seaside destinations, began in 1973, as a response to the imminent introduction of local commercial radio stations. hosted by
Alan Freeman Alan Leslie Freeman MBE (6 July 1927 – 27 November 2006), nicknamed "Fluff", was an Australian-born British disc jockey and radio personality in the United Kingdom for 40 years, best known for presenting '' Pick of the Pops'' from 1961 to 20 ...
in Newquay, Cornwall, with the final one held at Heaton Park, Manchester in 1999. Although the Roadshow attracted large crowds and the style changed with the style of the station itself—such as the introduction of whistlestop audio postcards of each location in 1994 ("2minuteTour")—they were still rooted in the older style of the station, and therefore fit for retirement.


BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend

In March 2000, Radio 1 decided to change the Roadshow format, renaming it ''One Big Sunday'' in the process. Several of these ''Sundays'' were held in large city-centre parks. In 2003, the event changed again and was rebranded ''Radio 1's Big Weekend, One Big Weekend'', with each event occurring biannually and covering two days. Under this name, it visited Derry in Northern Ireland, as part of the ''Music Lives'' campaign, and Perry Park (Birmingham), Perry Park in Birmingham. The most recent change occurred in 2005 when the event was yet again renamed and the decision taken to hold only one per year, this time as Radio 1's Big Weekend. Venues under this title have included Herrington Country Park, Camperdown Country Park, Moor Park, Preston, Moor Park–which was the first ''Weekend'' to feature a third stage–Mote Park, Lydiard Park, Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor and Carlisle Lake District Airport, Carlisle Airport. Tickets for each ''Big Weekend'' are given away free of charge, making it the largest free ticketed music festival in Europe. BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend was replaced by a larger festival in 2012, named 'Radio 1's Hackney Weekend', with a crowd capacity of 100,000. The Hackney Weekend took place over the weekend of 23–24 June 2012 in Hackney Marshes, London Borough of Hackney, Hackney, London. The event was to celebrate the 2012 Cultural Olympiad in London and had artists such as Rihanna, Jay-Z and Florence and the Machine. In 2013, Radio 1's Big Weekend returned to Derry as part of the City of Culture 2013 celebrations. So far, Derry is the only city to have hosted the Big Weekend twice. In May 2014, Radio 1's Big Weekend was held in Glasgow, Scotland. Acts which played at the event included Rita Ora, The 1975, Katy Perry, Jake Bugg and Pharrell Williams. The event was opened on the Friday with a dance set in George Square, featuring Radio 1 Dance DJs such as Danny Howard and
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
, and other well-known acts such as Martin Garrix and Tiësto, Tiesto. In 2015, the event was held in Norwich and featured performances from the likes of Taylor Swift, Muse (band), Muse, David Guetta, Years & Years and others. 2016 saw the event make its way to Exeter. It was headlined by Coldplay, who closed the weekend on the Sunday evening. The event was in Kingston upon Hull, Hull in 2017 and saw performances by artists such as Zara Larsson, Shawn Mendes, Stormzy, Katy Perry, Little Mix, Sean Paul, Rita Ora, The Chainsmokers, Clean Bandit and Kings of Leon. To take advantage of Glastonbury Festival's fallow year in 2018, 4 separate Big Weekends were held simultaneously between 25 and 28 May. Stylized as "BBC Music's Biggest Weekend", events were held in Swansea (with a line-up curated by Radio 1), Coventry and Perth, Scotland, Perth (both curated by Radio 2) and Belfast (curated by Radio 6 Music). Tickets sold out for the Swansea, Perth and Coventry Big Weekends. In 2020, the Big Weekend at Dundee was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Radio 1 announced a virtual Big Weekend. It took place from 22 to 24 May and featured performances from artists like Mabel (singer), Mabel and Anne-Marie.


Ibiza Weekend

Radio 1 has annually held a dance music weekend broadcast live from Ibiza since the 1990s. The weekend is usually the first weekend in August and has performances from world-famous DJs and Radio 1's own dance music talent such as
Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for ...
and Annie Mac.


BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards

In September 2008, Radio 1 launched an annual music event for teenagers aged 14 to 17 years. Originally named BBC Switch Live, the first event was held on 12 October 2008 at the Hammersmith Apollo. In 2009, the event became an annual awards ceremony and the following year was renamed BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards. The awards honoured inspirational teens alongside the best music, movies, TV and sport stars in a variety of categories. In 2011, it was moved to Wembley Arena and later Studio 1 at Television Centre, London. Highlights of the event has been broadcast across BBC Television. Despite the awards ceremony not taking place since 2019, the main award, "Teen Hero", has continued to be awarded by Radio 1 as Teen Heroes.


Presenters

The event has been hosted by various Radio 1 DJs and guest co-hosts.


Performances


Edinburgh Festival

Radio 1 often has a presence at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Past events have included 'The Fun and Filth Cabaret' and 'Scott Mills: The Musical'.


Europe's Biggest Dance Show

''Europe's Biggest Dance Show'' is a series of dance music oriented radio specials produced by Radio 1. The first, Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2019, was broadcast on Friday 11 October 2019 where Radio 1 joined with several European radio stations, all members of the European Broadcasting Union, including Swedish Sveriges Radio P3, SR P3, German 1LIVE and RBB Fritz, Belgian Studio Brussel, VRT Studio Brussel, Irish RTÉ 2fm, French Mouv', Radio France Mouv and Dutch NPO 3FM. A second show, Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2020, was broadcast on Friday 8 May 2020. It had the same contributing stations as 2019; however, it had begun at 7 pm BST, rather than 8 pm as the previous year. The third installment of Europe's Biggest Dance Show was broadcast on Friday 23 October 2020. French Mouv' dropped out of the broadcast until further notice while Finnish YleX and Norwegian NRK mP3 joined the show. A fourth show, Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2021, was broadcast on Friday 29 October 2021. It saw the first contribution of Austrian station FM4, while the Dutch NPO 3FM dropped out. The fifth installment, Europe's Biggest Dance Show 2022, was broadcast on Friday 14 October 2022. It saw the first contribution the Ukrainian Radio Promin of UA:PBC and the return of Dutch NPO 3FM to the show.


Radio 1's summer stunts

Since 2018, BBC Radio 1 has performed format-breaking listener stunts. In 2018, Greg James and Nick Grimshaw played Hide and Seek on the radio and were found after 22 hours at the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool. In 2019 James and Grimshaw hid at the Grand Pier, Weston-super-Mare for almost 26 hours. In the summer of 2021 Radio 1 held ''Radio 1's Summer Breakout'', where James was locked inside a camper van and had to escape by entering a password. James escaped the van after 62 hours. The following year, James was booted off the Radio 1 Breakfast Show and had to complete a giant 20-piece jigsaw puzzle to find the missing pieces scattered across the United Kingdom. After six days, James completed the puzzle and was reinstated as host of the Breakfast show. In the summer of 2023, all DJs other than Greg James went into hiding, with James and the listeners asked to piece back the schedule and find all 30 DJs. On 20 July, James and the listeners were informed that if any DJs were still missing by noon (UK time) on 21 July the station would go off air. Mollie King was still hidden at this time, so the station went off air for five minutes, between 12:00 and 12:05, before returning to broadcasting at 12:05 pm.


Online-only sister stations

On 17 September 2020, the BBC announced that it would launch an online-only sister station for BBC Radio 1, called BBC Radio 1 Dance, which would primarily play all kinds of songs from the Dance genre. The station was launched on 9 October 2020 at 6 pm BST. A second online-only sister station, BBC Radio 1 Relax, was launched on 22 April 2021. The station played a selection of relaxation and well-being focused shows. The station closed on 24 July 2024, following the announcement that the BBC would be launching three new digital stations on
BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...
. In September 2024, the BBC launched 2 new online-only radio stations, one of them being BBC Radio 1 Anthems, BBC Radio 1 Anthems.


Controllers/Head of Station


Former logos

File:BBC Radio 1 Logo 1967.jpg, BBC Radio 1 logo from its 1967 launch File:BBC_Radio_1_Logo_1976.jpg, BBC Radio 1 logo from 1976 to 1988 File:BBC Radio 1 Logo 1988.jpg, BBC Radio 1 logo from 1988 to 1990 File:BBC Radio 1 Logo 1990.jpg, BBC Radio 1 logo from 1990 to 1994 File:BBC Radio 1 logo 1994.jpg, BBC Radio 1 logo from 1994 to 1997 File:Logo BBC Radio 1.svg, BBC Radio 1 logo from 2007 to 2021


Awards and nominations


International Dance Music Awards

Radio 1 has won the International Dance Music Awards' Best Radio Station every year from 2002 to 2020 with the exception of 2010.


See also

* :BBC Radio 1 presenters * List of BBC radio stations * Radio 1 Podcasts * BBC Radio * Triple J


References


Sources

*


Further reading

*


External links

* * * * * {{Authority control BBC Radio 1, BBC national radio stations, 1 Contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations established in 1967 1967 establishments in the United Kingdom Radio stations in the United Kingdom